Communities In Schools Praises Congress for Passing the Every Student Succeeds Act & Providing Resources for Low-Income Students

CIS Succeeds in Helping Local Communities Access Critical Funds for Poorest Students

Arlington, Va. Dec. 9, 2015 - Communities In Schools (CIS), the nation’s largest and most effective dropout prevention organization, today applauded Sens Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn and Patty Murray, D-Wash and Reps John Kline, R-Minn and Bobby Scott, D-Va for their leadership in helping first the House and today the Senate pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, a major bipartisan overhaul of the nation’s federal education law.

Among the most important measures in the new law is a framework allowing local communities to tap critically needed resources to help low income students get the help they need to stay in school.

The new law includes specific language allowing Title 1 funding for integrated student supports (wraparound services) - a local and school-based approach that removes academic and non-academic barriers to student achievement. It also enables local educators to access competitive grants to work with integrated student supports providers like Communities In Schools and encourages local communities to utilize evidence-based programs proven to help low-income students succeed in school.

“This represents our nation's best opportunity to help poor students, who are now the majority in public schools, overcome their barriers to learning,” said Communities In Schools President Dan Cardinali. “Our nearly 40 years of experience working with students across the country and independent research results prove that integrated students supports effectively improve education outcomes for school kids. It is gratifying that our leaders in Congress looked at the evidence and determined this is an effective and cost-efficient use of resources.”

CIS is the largest provider of integrated student supports. Our unique model of support positions trained site coordinators inside schools to identify at-risk students. Working with school leaders and community partners, the site coordinators provide these students with the services and supports - food, school supplies, health care, counseling, academic assistance, mentorship, guidance, etc. - needed for academic success. A recent impact report demonstrated the results:

CIS serves 1.48 million students at 2,400 schools and community-based sites across the country

92 percent of these students are eligible for free-or-reduced priced lunch

99 percent of case-managed students stay in school

93 percent of K-11 students who are monitored are promoted to the next grade

91 percent of eligible seniors graduate

The cost to states and districts is minimal—as little as $159 per student per year

###

About Communities In Schools:

Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation’s largest and most effective dropout prevention organization. Operating in more than 2,400 schools in the most challenged communities of 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves nearly 1.5 million young people and their families each year. Based directly inside schools throughout the country, Communities In Schools connects students and their families to basic and critical educational and community-based resources, tailored to each student’s specific needs. Learn more about Communities In Schools at www.CommunitiesInSchools.org.

About Communities In Schools

Working directly in more than 2,300 schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools is the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization proven to keep students in school and on the path to graduation. For the 2015-2016 school year, Communities In Schools served nearly 1.5 million students and successfully helped 99 percent of our case-managed students stay in school.